French playing cards

History

Playing cards arrived in Europe from Mamluk Egypt around 1370 and were already reported in France in 1377. The French suit insignia was derived from German suits around 1480. Between the transition from the suit of bells to tiles there was a suit of crescents.

One of the most distinguishing features of the French cards is the queen. Mamluk cards and their derivatives, the Latin suited and German suited cards, all have three male face cards. Queens began appearing in tarot decks in the early 15th century and some German decks replaced two kings with queens. While other decks abandoned the queen in non-tarot decks, the French kept them and dropped the knight as the middle face card. Face card design was heavily influenced by Spanish cards that used to circulate in France. One of the most obvious traits inherited from Spain are the standing kings. Kings from Italian, Portuguese, or Germanic cards are seated.

In the 19th century, corner indices and rounded corners were added and cards became reversible, relieving players from having to flip face cards right side up. The index for aces and face cards usually follow the local language but many decks of the Paris pattern use the numeral "1" for aces.

Current standard patterns

The French suited deck has spawned many regional variations known as standard patterns based on their artwork and deck size. The Paris pattern was heavily exported throughout continental Europe which is why most French-suited patterns share a similar appearance. The English pattern, based on the extinct Rouennais pattern, is the most well known pattern in the world.

Note that patterns don't factor in Jokers as they are a very recent addition which leads to every manufacturer making their own trademarked depiction of this card. Almost all 52-card packs produced in the present will contain at least two jokers unless otherwise noted.

Paris pattern

The Paris pattern came to dominate in France around 1780 and became known as the portrait officiel. From the 19th century to 1945, the appearance of the cards used for domestic consumption was regulated by the French government. All cards were produced on watermarked paper made by the state to show payment of the stamp tax. The most common deck sold in France is the 32-card deck with the 2 to 6 removed and 1s as the index for aces. 52-card decks are also popular. The French have a unique habit of associating their face cards with historic or mythical personages which survives only in the portrait officiel.

Belgian-Genoese and Piedmontese patterns

The Belgian-Genoese pattern is very similar to its Parisian parent and is basically an export version not subject to France's domestic stamp tax. The jack of clubs has a triangular shield bearing the coat of arms of the former Spanish Netherlands, face cards are unnamed, and blue is usually replaced with green in the portraits. The diagonal dividing line also lacks the beads. In Genoa, there are no corner indices. Piedmontese cards are similar to the Genoese packs but their face cards have a horizontal instead of diagonal dividing line and the aces are found in a decorative circle. When the Ottoman Empire relaxed the ban against playing cards, Belgian type cards flooded their territory and is now found throughout the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East. They are also commonly found in France's former colonies. Within Belgium, the Francophone Walloons are the primary users of this pattern, the Flemish prefer the Dutch pattern. This is the second most common pattern in the world after the English pattern. Belgian decks come in either 32 or 52 cards like in France. Genoese and Piedmontese packs come in 36 (no 2s to 5s), 40 (no 8s to 10s), or 52 card decks.

Bavarian derivatives

Andreas Benedict Göbl of Munich produced a Parisian variant around 1770 where the king of diamonds wore a turban. This originates from the German-suited Old Bavarian pattern. Belgian card-makers subsequently exported turban king patterns to the rest of Europe. The king of spades, who used to represent David, no longer holds a harp.

The Russian pattern created during the early 19th-century is based on a North-West German version of a Bavarian derivative. It usually contains 52 or 36 cards, the latter lacking ranks 2 to 5. The stripped deck is used to play Durak. They can be found in many countries that were once part of the Russian Empire or Soviet Union.

Adler-Cego is the last remaining animal tarot and is used in Germany's Black Forest to play Cego. The courts are based off a Frankfurt version of a Bavarian derivative. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 to 10 of the red suits and the 1 to 6 of the black suits are removed. Real and fictional animals are displayed on the trump suit but despite its name, eagles do not appear. Trumps have a pink panel in each end with an Arabic numeral to show its rank.

The Industrie und Glück (Industry and Luck) tarock deck of Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is organized in the same manner as the Adler-Cego decks. Its trumps abandoned the traditional allegorical motifs found in Italian tarocchi decks in favor of new, more whimsical scenes like depictions of rural life. The turban wearing king is now in the suit of spades.

Hamburg derivatives

French-suited cards are popular in Central Europe and compete very well against local German playing cards. Hamburg was once a major card producing hub where makers began revising the Paris pattern. The patterns in this family have the king of spades keeping David's harp.

The North-German pattern was created in Stralsund from a Hamburg derivative. It is often erroneously called the Berlin pattern. The crownless queens' hairstyles reflect the Biedermeier fashions of the day. They are usually in decks of 32 cards with the 2s to 6s missing since Skat, Germany's most popular card game, does not require a full deck. 52-card decks usually include three jokers but Zwickern decks have six jokers.

The French-Swiss pattern shares the same descent from the North-German pattern's Hamburg parent but their most distinguishing characteristic is that instead of having corner indices, white Arabic numerals are found within the pips closest to the corner. French-Swiss cards comes only in decks of 36 with no ranks from 2 to 5.

The Modern Portuguese pattern is a Parisian derivative from Germany. When it arrived in Portugal, the kings and jacks in hearts and diamonds swapped suits. The composition consists of 52 cards or until recently 40 cards. The latter had an unusual ranking (ace, king, jack, queen, 8, 6–2). The jack ranking higher than the queen comes from the older Portuguese games where a female knave was outranked by the knight. They also use French language indices.

The Dutch pattern originates from Germany and shares the same parent as the Modern Portuguese pattern but with different queens. It was not produced in the Netherlands until the 1970s. Their most distinguishing feature are scenic aces. Also found in Flanders, they come in decks of 32 (no 2s to 6s) or 52 cards.

The Trente et Quarante pattern is named after the game it is associated with. Unlike other patterns, it is usually only found in casinos. Although of German origin, this pattern is now produced only in Italy. They consist of 52 cards and no indices.

Dondorf Rhineland pattern

Around 1870, Dondorf of Frankfurt produced the Rhineland pattern. The kings have very thick beards. They have fallen out of popularity in Germany but are very common in Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Baltic states. They come in decks of 24 (no 2s to 8s), 32 (no 2s to 6s), or 52 cards, the latter of which may have up to three jokers in some countries.

Tarot Nouveau

The Tarot Nouveau was designed by C.L. Wüst of Frankfurt in the mid-19th century. It is popular in Francophone Europe and Quebec and is also used in Denmark to play tarot games that require the full 78-card deck. Like the Industrie und Glück, the trumps depict genre scenes but modern editions use Arabic numerals instead of Roman ones.

Modern Swedish pattern

Swedes used to use Bavarian derived patterns. In the early 20th-century, the firm Öberg & Son invented a new pattern unrelated to the old ones. This pattern has spread to neighboring Finland. The clothing for the figures in the court cards are color coordinated; green for spades, red for hearts, purple for clubs, and blue for diamonds. They are in the standard 52-card format.

English pattern

Card makers from Rouen began exporting to England around 1480. Since Latin-suited cards were already circulating in England, the English renamed French suits to the Latin ones they were familiar with. Hence the clovers were called clubs and pikes were named after the swords (spade). The English didn't start producing their own cards until a century later. In 1628, the importation of foreign playing cards was banned to protect local manufacturers. English cardmakers produced lower quality cards than their continental counterparts leading to the loss of detail from the Rouennais pattern. Today's pattern is the result of Charles Goodall and Son's reworking of the old Rouen pattern during the 19th century. The majority of decks sold in this pattern is the 52 card deck. One deck invented in the US but more commonly found in Australia and New Zealand contains 11s, 12s, and red 13s to play the six-handed version of the Euchre variant 500. In the late nineteenth century, they were also used for variants of draw poker and royal cassino. Decks marketed for Canasta often have card point values printed on the cards.

Vienna pattern

Lyon was a major card exporter to German speaking countries from the late 16th through the 18th centuries. While the Lyonnais pattern died out in most places, it survived in Austria and the Czech Republic and its modern incarnations are the Vienna patterns. The "large crown" version lacks corner indices while the "small crown" version includes them. They come in decks of 24 (no 2s to 8s), 32 (no 2s to 6s), or 52 cards.

Lombardy pattern

The Lombardy or Milanese pattern come in 40 card decks that is missing the 8s, 9s, and 10s and lack corner indices. The Lombard decks exported to Swiss Italian regions contain corner indices and also labels the ranks of the face cards. It is probably derived from the Lyonnais pattern and its offshoot, the extinct Provence pattern.

Florence pattern

The Florence pattern, dating from the mid-19th century, is the only French suited deck that is not reversible in the present. They are also very large. Cards marketed as "Tuscan" are smaller versions of the Florence pattern. There was another pattern called "Tuscan" but it has ceased printing since the 1980s. It has the same composition as the Lombard pattern.

Baronesse pattern

Dondorf of Frankfurt produced this pattern around 1900 and now it is used in Patience decks by many companies worldwide. The court cards are dressed in rococo period costumes.